Bench and table unit



Oct. 21, 1958 '4a.;R. LEPPER 2, 3

BENCH AND" TABLE UNIT Filed Oct. 12. 1954 INVENTOR DALE R. LEPPER ATTORNEY jmzm United States Patent ce 2,856,985 BENCH AND TABLE UNIT 7 Dale R. L epper, Quincy, Ill. Application October 12, 1954, Serial No. 461,751

1 Claim. or. 155-124 My invention relates to the combination of a bench and table unit, such as is used in parks and in homes and where the unit can be converted to .a bench with a back when the table is not in use.

An object of my invention is to provide such a unit which may be easily converted and used as desired, sturdy in structural design yet easily movable to different sites.

A further object of my invention is to provide a bench and table unit which may be occupied without the necessity of stepping over the bench in order to be seated.

Other and further objects of my invention will appear from the specification to follow and from the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 shows a view of the unit used as a bench and table; Fig. 2 shows a view of the unit converted for use as a bench with back; Fig. 3 shows the bracket support assembly in position for table use; Fig. 4 shows the bracket support assembly in position for use as a bench with back; and Fig. 5 shows the structure for locking the bracket in the desired position for either use.

I am familiar wih the many attempt to design a bench and table combination which may be easily converted to a bench with a back, but heretofore such structures have had certain disadvantages which are avoided by the structure of my invention. One of the main objections to structures employed heretofore has been the rather involved systems of bracing necessary to obtain rigidity, the complicated arrangement for changing the use of th unit, and its lack of portability.

It will be seen from an examination of Figs. 1 and 2 that the structure of my invention comprises in the main, a seat 1 made up of one or more planks, a table top 2 made up of one or more planks, the seat and table top being supported at each end thereof by triangular shaped end members 3 and 4. The end members 3 and 4 are preferably made of pipe or tubing on the bottoms of which are provided rollers 5 in order that the unit may be easily transported from place to place. The end members 3 and 4 are triangular shaped as mentioned, the bottom of each member being similar to the base of a triangle, and two arms extend upward from the base of each which arms are secured to one end of the seat 1 and one end of the table top 2, the other end member being likewise secured to the other end of the seat 1 and table top 2 in like manner, the details of which are more clearly shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5. For purposes of explanation only one end member 3 will be described, end member 4 being similar.

Fig. 3 shows in section one of the end members 3, and it is shown that a bracket support or tilting bracket 7 is, like end member 3, triangular shaped. In locked position it is observed that one arm of the tilting bracket 7 is always alongside the upwardly extending arm of end member 3, the triangular shaped tilting bracket 7 having two arms and either one or the other is secured in position when the unit is in use. In Fig. 4 it will be observed that the other arm of the triangular shaped tilting bracket 7 is secured, Fig. 3 having shown the bracket 7 in position for use as a seat and table and Fig. 4 showing the bracket 2,856,985 Patented Oct. 21, 1958 7 in position for use as a seat with back. Along what would be the base of the triangular shaped bracket 7 I provide a connecting bar or elongated plate 6, to which the table top is normally fastened. It will be observed that I provide a pivot 8 at what would be the apex of the triangular shaped tilting bracket 7, this taking the form of a bolt passing through tilting bracket 7 and into a hole through end member 3, the hole being shown, in Fig. 5 by the reference numeral 12. Fig. 5 also shows a cap member and lug 10 which has a hole in which a securing pin 11 is inserted. The tilting bracket 7 is locked in either of the two positions by inserting the pin 11 through the appropriate hole 9 in either arm of tilting bracket 7 thence through the hole in lug 10, it being observed that the side or arm of the tilting bracket in use at the time being always alongside and as in effect a continuation of the upwardly extending arm of end member 3. It is understood that the length of the arms or sides of tilting bracket 7 can be as desired, as long as the rearward arm of end member 3 if so desired, in which case the pivot 8 would be farther toward the bottom of end member 3 and the location of cap and lug 10 being moved as far from pivot 8 as desired. Some compromise of strength and rigidity is always necessary when weight and portability are considered in the design of any structure, and while it is not shown in the drawings it is obvious that additional bracing may be had from the pivot 8 to the bottom base of end member, and likewise from the bottom of the seat 1 to the bottom of the end member, it being only necessary to divide the one roller 5 on each end member into several individual rollers appropriately spaced. It is important however that there be no cross bracing between the seat 1 and the table top 2 since such would interfere with the ease of entering and leaving the unit.

Materials used will vary with the use intended however I have found that ordinary iron pipe can be used and welded at the corners most satisfactorily. Reinforcing rods can be inserted at the bends in end members 3 if desired and instead of a single leg of pipe for each side of each end member 3 and 4, these can be made up of two telescoping pipes each, so that the unit may be disassembled by merely lifting the seat 1 and the table top 2 from the end members 3 and 4. In practice however, it is a simple matter to disconnect pivot 8 for storage of the unit.

What I claim as my invention is:

A bench and table unit comprising in combination an elongated platform constituting a seat, an elongated platform constituting a table top, two end members secured to the two ends of said table top and the two ends of said seat, each of said end members being substantially identical, said end members constituting supports and a main frame for said table top and said seat, said end members having a substantially horizontal section along the bottom and constituting a base, each of said bases having upwardly extending arms from the ends thereof and being eontinuations thereof, the bases and upwardly extending arms constituting the main frame abovementioned, an arm of each end member connected with the under side of said seat near the ends thereof, the other of said upwardly arms of each end member inclined at an angle less than degrees from the vertical plane and in the direction of said seat, a triangularly shaped bracket having its apex pivotably connected to said last mentioned upwardly extending arm, the base of said triangularly shaped bracket attached to said table top on the underside thereof, said bracket having arms and a base, said last mentioned arms inclined with respect to said last mentioned base at an angle equal to that of said first mentioned base and its associated upwardly extending arms, each of the arms of said bracket provided withv an aperture, each of said upwardly extending arms provided with an. aperture, said last mentioned apertures alignable with either of the apertures of the bracket upon aligning of the respective arm of said'bracket and its associated upwardly extending arm, and pin means for insertion inthe aligned apertures locking said brackets with respect to its associated upwardly extending arms, saidbracket in associationwith said last mentioned upwardly extending arm constituting locking means to selectively hold said table top in a horizontal position, and said bracketin association with said last mentioned upwardly extending arm constituting means to limit the tilting of said table top when the said table top is un-' 4 locked from its horizontal position and tiltedthe direction of said scat.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED-STATES PATENTS 155,231 Francis Sept. 22, 1874 365,698 Merkel June 28, 1887 457,345 Fox a Aug. 11, 1891 525,979 Fitzgerald Sept. 11, 1894 1,261,611 Polyak Apr. 2, 1918 2,506,606 McCaw May 9, 1950 2,509,556 Zimmerman et a1 May 30, 1950 

